R277-497. School Accountability System

R277.  Education, Administration.

R277-497.  School Accountability System.

R277-497-1.  Authority and Purpose.

          (1)  This rule is authorized by:

          (a)  Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, which vests general control and supervision of public education in the Board;

          (b)  Section 53E-5-202, which directs the Board to adopt rules to implement a statewide accountability system; and

          (c)  Subsection 53E-3-401(4), which allows the Board to make rules to execute the Board's duties and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution and State law.

          (2)  The purpose of this rule is to establish performance thresholds for meaningfully differentiating schools, provisions for the methodology of calculating points, and exclusions from the school accountability system.

R277-497-2.  Indexing of Points for Calculating Academic Growth.

          (1)  For the purposes of calculating academic growth, the Superintendent shall assign each student a student growth percentile (SGP).

          (2)  The Superintendent shall assign point weights to a school for student growth as follows:

          (a)  if the student's SGP is greater than 80, the weight is 1.0;

          (b)  if the student's SGP is between 60 and 79, the weight is 0.75;

          (c)  if the student's SGP is between 40 and 59, the weight is 0.50;

          (d)  if the student's SGP is between 20 and 39, the weight is 0.25; or

          (e)  if the student's SGP is less than 20, the weight is 0.

          (3)  To determine the total growth points allocated to a school, the Superintendent shall:

          (a)  add all the weights and divide by the total number of qualifying tests defined in the Utah Accountability Technical Manual, described in Subsection R277-497-3(5), to establish a percentage; and

          (b)  multiply the percentage by the total growth points possible.

R277-497-3.  Specific Provisions on Calculation of Points.

          (1)(a)  In accordance with Subsection 53E-5-207(4)(c)(ii), the Superintendent shall award 10% of the points allocated for high school graduation based on a school's five-year graduation rate.

          (b)  A school may not earn more than the total number of points possible for the graduation rate indicator.

          (2)(a)  In accordance with Section 53E-5-210, the Superintendent shall determine that an ELL student meets adequate progress if the ELL student has an increase in proficiency level as described in the Utah Accountability Technical Manual on an English language proficiency assessment approved by the Board and designated in Rule R277-404.

          (3)(a)  For a school that chooses to include additional quality indicators on its school report card, the school may choose up to two additional self-reported indicators.

          (b)  The Superintendent shall approve a list of indicators that a school may use for purposes of Subsection (3)(a), and may also approve other indicators that an LEA may submit for consideration.

          (c)  The Superintendent shall publish the pre-approved self-reported indicators list on the Assessment and Accountability section of the USBE website.

          (d)  If a school elects to include the additional self-reported indicators, the school shall notify the Superintendent by established due dates.

          (4)  When calculating postsecondary readiness points for a high school student's performance on a college readiness assessment, the Superintendent shall use the student's ACT score obtained during the statewide administration of ACT.

          (5)  The Superintendent shall publish the Utah Accountability Technical Manual, which includes:

          (a)  additional technical details on the calculation of points;

          (b)  business rules;

          (c)  detailed explanations on the methodologies for the calculation of achievement, student growth, equitable education opportunity, and postsecondary readiness and;

          (d)  other indicators to appropriately assess the educational impact of a school that serves a special student population.

          (6)  A copy of the Utah Accountability Technical Manual is located at:

          (a)  https://schools.utah.gov/assessment/resources; and

          (b)  the offices of the Utah State Board of Education.

R277-497-4.  Exclusions From the Accountability System and Indicators for Schools Serving a Special Student Population.

          (1)(a)  In determining schools to exempt from the school accountability system, in accordance with Section 53E-5-203, the Superintendent shall exempt a school in which the number of students tested on a statewide assessment is less than 10.

          (b)  The Superintendent may not report any school indicator for which the student group size for that indicator is less than 10.

          (2)  The Superintendent shall publish other indicators, in addition to indicators described in Sections 53E-5-205 and 53E-5-206, to appropriately assess the educational impact of a school that serves a special student population.

KEY:  school reports, school grading accountability

Date of Last Change:  August 8, 2023

Notice of Continuation:  June 5, 2020

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law:  Art X, Sec 3; 53E-5-202; 53E-3-401(4)

Status of Rule

Effective August 8, 2023

Five-year review June 5, 2025

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Oversight Framework

Uncategorized

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Related Utah Law

Public Education Statutes
Title 53E, Chapter 5, Part 2, School Accountability System, specifically 53E-5-202, 53E-5-205, 53E-5-206, 53E-5-207, 53E-5-210

Other Statutes
None

USBE Administrative Rules
R277-100, Definitions for USBE Rules

R277-113, LEA Fiscal and Auditing Policies

R277-404, Requirements for Assessments of Student Achievement

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Related Federal Law

None

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Resources

None

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Contact Information

Primary Contact:
Britney Broadhead
britney.broadhead@schools.utah.gov
Assessment and Accountability

Secondary Contact:
Cydnee McCarty
cydnee.mccarty@schools.utah.gov
Assessment and Accountability

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This page was last updated on October 28, 2024.

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NOTE: The information on this webpage is provided as a service to users and the Utah State Board of Education is not responsible for any errors or omissions.

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